Current Transformer with Optic Fiber Mode Electronic Circuit

Abstract

The current transformer system that is the present invention allows for surveillance of an electronic grid at electrical power generating stations, at individual operational substations and in electric power distribution for electric network and grid measurement, protection, and control ranging from very low currents to high current magnitudes. The reception and relay of information from the CT primary circuit is sensed and transmitted by a primary electronic circuitry, digitized, converted to a fiber optic mode, transmitted to a secondary electronic circuit, processed and converted to a digital output and transmitted to various monitoring and recording devices.

Claims

1. A current transformer metering and monitoring system comprising: a primary current in a primary winding; a secondary winding for determining the primary current magnitude; a primary electronic circuit for receipt of said primary current magnitude information; a fiber optic conveyance for transmittal of said primary current magnitude information; a secondary electronic circuit for receiving and processing of primary current magnitude information from said fiber optic conveyance; an interface for transmittal of received said secondary current magnitude information externally; and a computer for reception of current magnitude information.

2. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the secondary winding determines the current in the primary winding, as a function of the ratio of turns of the secondary winding to the primary winding, wherein the current data is determined in said secondary winding, data is received by said primary electronic circuit, data is converted to digitized information for transmittal along said fiber optic conveyance, data is received by a secondary electronic circuit, data is then transmitted along an integrated interface to a wireless, optical or digital interface to an external computer for data collection, observation, interpretation, measurement, monitoring and power supply operation.

3. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 2, wherein said digitized information is transmitted along a said fiber optic conveyance which allows for current readings from very low to very high magnitudes, requires no calibration or recalibration, can accommodate both AC and DC currents, is light and configurable and offers current measurements that are more accurate than analog measurements.

4. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said secondary winding data, as a function of primary winding data, is received and conveyed via a primary electronic circuit-fiber optic conveyance-secondary electronic circuit system communicating with said interface or interfaces for transmittal of information to an additional interface, a series of interfaces, or directly to an external computer or plurality of computers.

5. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 4, wherein said interface is an RJ-45 type interface, RS-232 type interface, RJ-432 type interface or RS-485 type interface for the relaying of information to an external receiver.

6. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 4, wherein there exists said interface, in the form of a wireless, GSM, optical or digital interface for contemporaneous transmittal to an exterior receiver computer, computers or computer system for receiving, monitoring, analysis, processing and storage of digitized information.

7. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 1 wherein, the secondary electronic circuit may be operated on a power supply that is axillary or self-powered by a conventional battery, a rechargeable battery or may be integrated into the existing electrical system or electric grid for power supply.

8. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the present invention that is a current transformer is capable of detecting, monitoring and conveying current data of both AC and DC current.

9. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the configuration of the current transformer may be of a live tank or dead tank design.

10. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said fiber optic conveyance can be integrated into an existing current transformer or installed into a new current transformer wherein said fiber optic conveyance overcomes analog issues in flexibility of configuration and signal distortion, signal aberration, signal loss over long distances, tank weight and tank safety.

11. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 1, wherein an individual current transformer may be used in series or combination with other individual current transformers or where said individual current transformer may be used to detect, monitor and convey multiple currents simultaneously, contemporaneously or sequentially thereby multiplying the effectiveness of each current transformer's limited error rate in aggregate and in sum.

12. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 1, wherein an individual current transformer may be used in series or combination with other individual current transformers or wherein said individual current transformer may contain one to a plurality of electronic circuits and optic fiber conveyances, in various combinations, with which to collect, convey and transmit data.

13. The current transformer metering and monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said system may utilize the aforementioned electronic circuits, digitized information and fiber optic conveyances in current sensing, measurement, monitoring, and transmittance of information to an external computer for data collection, interpretation, and analysis but also may utilize the same avenues, retrograde, where information is sent from an external computer to the current transformer for instrument or system diagnostics, control, adjustments, updates and the like.

14. A method of monitoring the current in a primary winding comprising the steps of: monitoring and measuring a primary current by a secondary winding; receiving and interpreting the output of the secondary winding, as a function of the primary winding, by the primary electronic circuitry; processing and digitizing analog information in the primary electronic circuit; transmitting the digitized information via a fiber optic conveyance to a secondary electronic circuit; receiving and processing digitized information in said electronic secondary circuit; transferring the digitized information from said secondary electronic circuit via an interface or interfaces to a receiving computer, or computers, for monitoring, analysis and storage.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the components of the monitoring system may be integrated into a live tank or dead tank design.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the system can be made to measure either AC current, DC current or both at both high current magnitudes and low current magnitudes.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein said digitalized information is transported along and within the length of the neck of the live tank current transformer where the primary electronic circuitry is located in the primary terminal box of the live tank current transformer, the fiber optic conveyance is located in the neck of the live tank current transformer and said secondary electronic circuit is located in the secondary terminal box of the live tank current transformer.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the interface or plurality of interfaces responsible for the transport of digitized information from the secondary electronic circuit to an externalized computer are located within the secondary terminal box of the live tank current transformer.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the secondary electronic circuit may be operated on a power supply that is axillary or self powered by a traditional battery, via a rechargeable battery or may be integrated into the existing electrical system or electric grid.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein the digitalized information may be received, collected and transmitted via a wireless, GSM, optical or digital interface for delayed or contemporaneous transmittal to an exterior computer or computer system for receiving, monitoring, processing and storage of digitized information.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein the electronic circuits and fiber optic conveyance may include a plurality of electronic circuits and fiber optic conveyances, in various combinations, wherein said digitized secondary information is transmitted along said fiber optic conveyance, or plurality of fiber optic conveyances, which are easily flexible, modifiable and configurable and amendable to large increases in distance which allows for current readings from very low to very high magnitudes, requires no calibration or recalibration, can accommodate both AC and DC currents, offers current measurements that are more accurate than analog measurements in a configuration that is lighter, more compact, safer, more cost efficient and more environmentally conscious.

22. The method of claim 14 wherein information may be sent from a current transformer to an external computer, or plurality of computers, for monitoring, interpretation and analysis and information may be sent from said computer, or plurality of computers, to the current transformer for instrument or system diagnostics, control, adjustments, updates and the like.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The advantages and other aspects of the invention will be readily appreciated by those of skill in the art and better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings in which individual features are designated and depicted, alone and in combination with reciprocal elements, throughout the several figures of the drawings.

[0024] The figures themselves are merely representational and provide a conceptual interpretation of the present invention and, as such, are not to scale and should not be interpreted as restricting the functional components, advantages and technical advancements of the present invention or to, in any way, surrender equivalents of the present invention or limit the scope the appended claims.

[0025] FIG. 1 depicts a diagram illustrating a conventional “live tank” type design current transformer.

[0026] FIG. 2 displays a diagram of a traditional “dead tank” type design current transformer.

[0027] FIG. 3 depicts a diagram of the present invention wherein a current image is relayed between two electronic circuits by a fiber optic conveyance and through an internalized interface for further transmittance.

[0028] And while the invention itself and method of use are amendable to various modifications and alternative configurations, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in adequate detail to inform those having skill in the art to make and practice the same. It should, however, be understood that the above description and preferred embodiments disclosed are not intended, and should not, limit the invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention disclosure is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined within the claim's broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein there is described in detail certain preferred embodiments of the present invention (and examples for illustrative purposes). Although the following detailed description contains many specific features for the purposes of illustration, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many variations, modificaitons and alterations to the following details are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following embodiments of the invention are set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the claimed invention. While embodiments are described in connection with the specification herein, there is no intent to limit the scope to the embodiments disclosed below. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.

[0030] Equally, it should be observed that the present invention can be understood, in terms of both structure and function, from the accompanying disclosure and claims taken in context with the associated drawings. And whereas the present invention and method of use are capable of several different embodiments, which can be arranged and rearranged into several configurations, which allows for mixing and matching of features and components, each exhibiting their accompanying interchanging functionalities, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present application.

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates the current state of technology of live tank design wherein the output of the secondary winding, relative to the current in the primary winding, is detected and transmitted via an analog conveyance where instruments and controlling devices receive a considerably smaller range of currents in relation to the large currents travelling through the primary winding.

[0032] Expressly, the structural representational diagram depicts a primary winding 3 that is made to translocate through the middle of the core 5 of the toroidal accepting structure and affixed secondary winding 6 which is housed within the upper live tank 9 of the “live tank design” current transformer 2 that represents the existing state of current transformer design. The primary current travelling through the primary winding 3 produces an alternating magnetic field within the core 5 which in turn induces an alternating current within the secondary winding 6 to produce a greatly reduced secondary current that may be several orders of magnitude decreased when interpreted by an ammeter (not shown). The current magnitude is then conveyed via an analog conveyance 12, through the live tank insulation 9 and CT bushing 15, wherein the secondary current is transmitted and relayed to the secondary terminal box 18 for subsequent transmittal to an external recording or monitoring device (not shown).

[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates the present invention that is the current transformer with a fiber optic mode and electronic circuit which is integrated into a dead tank type design wherein the primary 3 is “read” by the secondary winding 6 where data is transferred via a fiber optic conveyance to a receiving and transmitting device for relay to a technician or operator. Although structurally disparate from the live tank design in the areas of configuration and design, the conveyance of received data, in terms of secondary winding 6 output, can nonetheless benefit from a fiber optic conveyance of current data without succumbing to the above-mentioned infirmities.

[0034] FIG. 3 depicts currents generated in the primary winding 3 where the energized primary winding 3 produces a magnetic field in the core 5 of the secondary winding 6 and the subsequent electromagnetic field drives the current in the secondary winding 6 which is relationally determinable to calculate the current in the primary winding 3 (via the transformation ratio). By knowing the secondary winding 6 ammeter current and actual current ratios (ratio of the number of primary to secondary turns), the current is easily determinable. And while the primary winding 3 is connected directly in series with the power circuit, the primary winding 3 is nonetheless separated and independent of the secondary current in the secondary winding 6.

[0035] As the primary winding 3 passes through the upper shell 9 of the live tank design and equally centrally through the middle of the toroidal core 5, the current passing through the annular open space of the secondary winding 6 generates a received current that is (1) physically separated from the current generated in the primary winding 3 and (2) is at a greatly decreased current relative to the current in the primary winding 3 (as is exhibited as a ratio of the primary current to secondary current). The current in the secondary winding 6 is then received and converted to a digital (digitized) signal via electronic circuitry 24 which then transmits the digitized data, via a fiber optic conveyance 27, to a reciprocating secondary electronic circuitry 30 in the secondary terminal box 21 wherein data is received and transmitted, via interface RJ 45 36 and interface RJ 432 39, to an external computer 45. Within the secondary terminal box 21 is housed an optional auxiliary power supply 33 which is tasked with facilitating the reception, processing and retransmission of received input from electronic circuitry 24, from electronic circuitry 30 via fiber optic conveyance 27, for the further transmittance via interface RJ 45 36 and interface RJ 432 39, respectively of secondary winding 6 data. This digitalized data is then conveyed to computer 45, then to any one to a number of interfaces 42 including a wireless, optical or digital communication interface (e.g. a wireless, GSM, optical or digital interface for delayed or contemporaneous transmittal to an exterior computer or computer system for receiving, monitoring, processing and storage of digitized information).

[0036] The particular embodiments disclosed are merely illustrative, which may be apparent to those having skill in the art that may be modified in diverse but equivalent manners. It is therefore contemplated that these particular embodiments may be altered and modified and that all such alterations are considered within the scope and spirit of the present application. And while these illustrations are of a limited number set, it is clear that the invention itself is mutable to any number of arrangements, configurations and modifications without departing from the invention's spirit thereof.